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RC TOM Challenge 2017

November 15, 2017

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The TOM Challenge provides an opportunity for students to learn more about supply chain management by exploring how organizations are grappling with some megatrends: climate change, digitalization, and the growing influence of isolationist political movements on international trade policies. These 700-800 word essays should address four questions:

Why is (or should) your particular aspect of one of these megatrends be of concern to the management of the organization you have selected?

What is the organization’s management doing to address this concern in the short term (the next two years) and the medium term (3–10 years out)?

What other steps do you recommend the organization’s management take to address this concern in the short and medium terms?

What are one or two important open questions related to this concern in the context of the organization you selected that you are unsure about, which merit comments from your classmates?

When posting your essay to Open Knowledge, be sure to enter “Climate change”, “Digitalization”, or “Isolationism” in the Topics field.

More details on research, sourcing, deadlines, and other matters are provided in the RC TOM Challenge: 2017 note. For assistance with the Open Knowledge platform during business hours (9:00 am – 5:00 pm M-F), email openknowledge@hbs.edu. A short video with instructions on how to post an essay to this platform is available at https://goo.gl/yyXK2H.

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